The Crossfire:  Exile
by jackkel dragon
Summary: Revised since the first published edition on BSN. The story of a wrongly exiled quarian on Omega, who is forced into helping one of her own along with the crew of a ship named the Crossfire.


_The Mass Effect setting and epigraph is owned by BioWare and EA._

* * *

Captain Netra'Ral vas _Redback_ stared into the stars before the Migrant Fleet. He didn't turn when he heard the doors behind him opening. He simply looked out into the galaxy, searching. Searching for the reason one of his own would betray the fleet.

Netra had heard the news before most other quarians even knew what had happened. His niece, Kal'Ral nar _Redback_, had been connected to an attempt to sabotage one of the fleet's Liveships. The Liveships were the most important part of the fleet, growing food for the quarian people. Should any of the three ships be destroyed, over a third of the quarian population could starve.

Netra could feel nervousness and urgency from the one who entered the room. He turned from the galaxy to face the facts. He recognized the man who had entered by his environment suit. An orange tinted cloth hung around a silver plated suit, with a blue mask. It was Kal's father, Ternna'Ral vas _Redback_. Ternna was wringing his wrists, waiting for his captain to ask the purpose of the meeting. Netra motioned for Ternna to begin. Ternna looked down as he began to speak, afraid to look his captain in the face, or his mask, as it was.

"Captain Netra. The investigation is nearly finished."

Netra nodded. "Any new information?"

Ternna looked up. "Yes. We found out who was responsible, and what they were trying to do."

Netra took a seat near the viewport and motioned to Ternna to do the same. Quarian vessels had very little open space, but the _Redback_ was a small ship, housing fewer than one hundred beings. In such a small ship, there was space for a room or two for comfort. Ternna carefully sat down next to Netra. Netra faced the stars. Watching the stars gave Netra a kind of serenity that he believed many ship captains never found. He would need to be calm to learn the facts of what had happened. After a long moment of silence, Netra urged Ternna to continue.

"There were three involved" began Ternna. "Kal, Pralta'Zer, and Letta'Mordo. Letta was the one in charge. He was going to overload the drive core of the Liveship to destroy it, and then take the salvage to the Collectors."

Netra's blood froze. The Collectors were a race only seen rarely in the Terminus Systems. They collected unusual specimens of intelligent beings and useless salvage in exchange for advanced technology. There had been a quarian who attempted to sell his own people to the Collectors a while back. That quarian, Golo, had been exiled for it.

"That's not all they found" Ternna continued. "It turns out that Kal and Pralta were left in the dark. They knew nothing about the Collectors' bargain. Letta only told them that they could skim some element zero from the core to use for other tech. They didn't know it was sabotage until it was too late."

Netra waited a moment, searching the stars. "And the accident?"

Ternna winced and hung his head. "Only Kal survived the explosion. I'm told that the ship will be fine, no permanent damage. Pralta and Letta were killed in the blast."

Netra put a hand on Ternna's shoulder. "You know what this means, brother."

Ternna nodded. "Kal must go before the Conclave and Admiralty Board. I doubt there is an alternative to exile, it was a failure of judgment."

Netra looked out into the stars. He couldn't find solace in them, not anymore. "Kal will be exiled. May the stars watch over her."

Netra had asked the stars to watch over someone many times. He trusted the stars. But when he told his brother that the stars would watch over Kal, the words were shallow. Netra had lost faith in the stars.

* * *

Kal woke to the sound of gunfire.

Gunfire was common on Omega. Gangs, vigilantes, and mercenaries spent most of their days trying to kill each other. There were more factions than Kal could count, each at each other's throat. Every day, she woke to the sounds of battle. She checked her suit readings. The fight was far enough to give her time to leave. She forced herself out of the bed of the apartment. She picked up her pack and strapped it to her back. Reaching under the bed, she pulled out a pistol and a shotgun. She always carried two weapons; Omega was a dangerous place to go unarmed. Should one of her weapons malfunction, she always had a backup weapon.

Kal slowly made her way out of the apartment and checked the streets nearby. Even in Omega's maze of streets and alleys, she thought she could tell where the battle was taking place. She made sure the alleys were clear, and started to make her way down a road leading away from the gunfire.

* * *

Kal wound through the streets of Omega until she found the place she was looking for: Daron's Bar. Daron was an elcor who made his way on Omega by selling red sand. Red sand wasn't illegal on Omega—nothing was—but it was popular among non-biotics and each shipment meant a sizeable profit. Kal wasn't on good terms with the elcor, but Daron knew better than to turn away an armed customer. He inherited the bar when the volus who built it was ripped to shreds by a group of angry—and drunk—krogan.

Daron's Bar didn't look like much. It was really just a repurposed apartment; the upper floors held several rooms that were usually safe from the fighting on the streets. The lower floor was where Daron gave drinks to his customers. The basement was hidden, but everyone figured that the red sand could be found there. Outside the entrance stood a relatively new glowing blue sign: Daron's Bar. The sign and door had several scorch marks from gangs and mercs, and the windows had been taken down to cut costs in repairing them.

Kal felt for her pistol and checked to make sure she still had a thermal clip. She didn't want to have an overheated weapon if something went wrong. She opened the door to the bar and walked inside. Several krogan were drinking at a table, and a volus had started a game of cards with some batarians. Daron waited at the bar, observing his customers. Kal walked up to the bar amid the stares of some of the krogan. Quarians weren't well respected anywhere, but Kal had proven herself capable of fending off discrimination. Daron's customers left her alone. Daron, however, did not like the quarian at all.

"With barely contained contempt: you are not welcome here, Kal."

Kal shook her head at the elcor. "I go where I want, Daron. If I want to come to you for my red sand, you're going to deal with it."

The elcor made a growling noise that Kal only ever heard from Daron. "Dismissively: I don't need your business, vagrant. You cause more trouble than you're worth."

Kal pulled out her pistol and pointed it at the elcor. One of the batarians made a grunt and pointed at her, and everyone in the bar turned to watch her. "Don't make me remind you that I'm the only quarian here that can survive an attack from two krogan at once. If I killed you, I wouldn't need to pay you for your crap."

Daron stared into Kal's mask for a minute. He motioned for everyone to go back to what they were doing. They did, but kept an eye on what was happening. "Angered statement: You are trying my patience, Kal. You may stay, but the next time you come I may have some new bodyguards."

Kal holstered her gun. "Good. Your batarian bouncer was found dead in a gutter over a week ago. Maybe try to hire some real mercs."

Daron shook his head and shuffled over to the back room. Kal supposed that the cellar entrance might be back there. It would a nice change to find Daron dusted in a corner. Kal shook the thought from her head and sat in a table in the back, where she could watch what happened.

When Kal was sure no one was going to bother her, she took off her pack and fiddled with its contents. She found a flask of pills, marked "dangerous." She had found this particular bottle in a human-run store. Kal was surprised the merchant even bothered to mark a drug as "dangerous" on Omega. Half-dead vorcha were more dangerous than any drug Kal knew.

Checking again to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted, Kal hit the release on her mask. She pulled it off and laid it in her pack. She could feel the dirty air of Omega grating against her face. She could smell dying flesh, drinks, krogan, and red sand. She made sure her hood was obscuring her face before uncorking the flask on the table. She took out one of the pills and swallowed it. She returned the flask to her pack and waited.

It wasn't long before she felt stronger. The pill was a powerful antibiotic designed with turians in mind. As both turians and quarians were made of dextro-amino acids, the pill also worked with quarian physiology. Kal pulled a human watch out of her pack and set the timer for one hour. She planned on getting dusted before she had to put her mask on, but she was in no hurry.

* * *

Kal knew she was hallucinating. Daron looked like a giant brown ball, rolling around the bar. The volus had become a striped egg playing cards with several green logs. Some dragons were drinking in the corner. The door opened, and a blue log rolled in. Kal tried to shake the hallucination away, if just for a moment. Any newcomer might be a sign that it's time to go. She was still dizzy, but her vision and hearing were beginning to clear.

The newcomer asked the elcor something in a language that sounded familiar before switching to a more common dialect. Daron shrugged and ignored the newcomer. The krogan in the corner started to glare at the newcomer in order to frighten him. Instead, the newcomer tried his luck with the volus. The batarians pushed the newcomer away. After a moment of looking around, the newcomer came closer to Kal.

Kal reached into her pack and frantically pulled out a bag of pills. They were dangerous, but focused the senses after overdosing on most other drugs. She swallowed two pills and pulled on her mask. As she fastened it, she realized that the newcomer was a quarian. Little wonder Daron overlooked the newcomer.

The quarian came up next to the table and motioned to a seat across from Kal. "Mind if I sit here a moment, pilgrim?"

Kal coughed. The red sand had left her with a headache. To add to her pain, this quarian thought that she was on her Pilgrimage. "I'm not a pilgrim." She nodded to Daron. "But I can assume you're still on your Pilgrimage."

The quarian nodded and looked around. "Yeah." He took the seat. "I'm trying to change that. I think I may have what I need, too."

Kal coughed again. She checked her watch. She got her mask on early, she shouldn't be having trouble. "If you have what you need, you wouldn't be talking to a duster like me."

The quarian sighed and took off his pack. He looked out the empty window before pulling out his omnitool. He opened a few files and displayed a schematic chart. He made sure to keep the hologram away from the window's sight. "I have these schematics for enhancing kinetic shielding on most space vessels."

Kal shook her head. "Like I said; good for you." Her vision was blurred again. She remembered that she usually took more pills to stop hallucinations. "I still don't see why you walk into some bar to talk to me."

The quarian put the omnitool back into his pack and looked out the window. He turned to Kal and whispered. "These schematics were stolen from the Blue Suns."

Kal held her head in her hands. All she needed was a reason for her headache. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

The quarian obviously didn't understand the question, naïve as he was. "I'm Tor'Vaal nar _Syrro_. It's a newer ship; I was one of the first born on it."

Kal pounded the table with her fist. "That's not what I meant. You think you can screw with the Blue Suns? They'll just flay your carcass and feed it to the vorcha."

Tor let his head fall. "I know. But I need to get off this rock before that happens."

Kal coughed. She pulled out her flasks of pills and found the one for easing red sand withdrawal. She unfastened her mask and took some pills before putting it back on. Tor was looking a little lost.

"You can take your mask off?"

Kal shrugged as she put her pills away. "Only for a short time." She pulled out her pistol. "You see this? A poor imitation of an Elanus Risk Control pistol. It can still put a hole in your head from two hundred meters away." Tor took a look at the pistol and backed up his chair. "The Blue Suns have gear five times as good as this crap. I'm not risking my life so that you get to go home a hero."

Tor stood up. "I thought we were supposed to stick together! For the good of the fleet." Some of the customers noticed the argument and looked over into Kal's corner.

Kal pointed the pistol at Tor. "I'm not part of the fleet. You never asked, but I'm Kal vas Nedas. Crew of nowhere. I don't give a damn about what happens to the fleet. If you want protection from the Blue Suns, look elsewhere."

Kal couldn't see Tor's face, but she knew he was surprised that a fellow quarian would treat him like this. He turned around in disgust. He ignored the stares as he left the bar. Daron made a noise that sounded like a chuckle.

"Pleasantly surprised: I have never seen something as great as a quarian threatened by another quarian."

Kal holstered her pistol and grabbed her pack. Before anyone else could congratulate her, she left the bar. She saw Tor walking down the alley ahead, so she took a different route. It didn't matter where she went next. She just wanted to be away from here.

* * *

Kal walked through the labyrinths of Omega until she came to a marketplace run by a batarian named Forack. He had set up the place in an alleyway near one of the docks of Omega, mostly so that he could make a quick getaway if he needed to. Forack knew many of the smugglers that supplied him personally. Most of them would be willing to shuttle him off of Omega at a moment's notice, or so they said.

Kal found a krogan and some salarians browsing the scrap that Forack had collected. Forack stood behind a counter, where he was inputting information into a datapad. The salarians were spread across the market, but the krogan was standing against a wall, gazing around at the goods arrayed around him.

Kal walked up to the batarian and pulled out some pieces of scrap that she had found in the past few days. He looked them over and sighed. "You again." He put the datapad down and pushed around some of the scrap. "Some armor plating… a broken pistol… this is crap. I'll give you fifty credits, no more."

Kal sighed and accepted the credits. Forack pulled out a bin from behind his counter and pushed the scrap into the bin. Forack was placing the bin back behind the counter when he queried in an indifferent tone: "Heard there's a new quarian on Omega these days. Bump into him?"

Kal supported herself with her arms on the counter. "Blue environment suit? Completely clueless? I may have seen him."

Forack looked at Kal as he reached for his datapad. "That's him. Have any idea what he's doing here?"

He's on his Pilgrimage." Kal began. "He apparently stole something from one of the merc bands on Omega."

Forack nodded. "Which group? Blood Pack? Eclipse?" He seemed interested.

Kal checked behind her to see that the salarians where oblivious to her conversation. The krogan seemed to be staring off into space. She turned to Forack and whispered "Blue Suns."

Forack nodded. "He's dead." He chuckled. "My brother stole from the Blue Suns once. Still haven't found out where they stored his head."

Kal ignored the batarian and looked around the market. "Do you have anything good here? I can never find a working omnitool."

Forack leaned forward on his counter. "I have a few omnitools, but don't tell anyone. I'm saving them for people with real money."

Kal pulled out a fistful of credit coins from her pack. "I have three hundred hard credits for anyone interested in supplying me with an omnitool."

Forack smiled. "I may have something." He ducked under his counter and sprang up of few moments later with an omnitool. "Now if I could have those credits…"

"Not so fast." Kal pulled the credits out of that batarian's reach. "I want to make sure the omnitool works."

Forack sighed and handed over the omnitool. Kal checked the major systems and couldn't find any errors. She dropped the credits on the counter and turned to leave. Forack wasn't fond of goodbyes, and would certainly be entertained by three hundred credits.

Kal saw the salarians roaming the market as she headed for the exit. The krogan by the wall glared at her. Kal walked with purpose, hoping the krogan would leave her alone. He didn't.

The krogan stood straight and blocked Kal's exit before she could leave. He was armored with a rusted metal plate with what looked like a kinetic shield emitter on the shoulder. He carried four weapons on his back and a pistol at his side. If this krogan was going to pick a fight, Kal might not make it out alive.

"Quarian. What might your name be?" The krogan asked.

Kal was surprised that the krogan cared about her name. Maybe he just wanted the irony of a marked grave on Omega. "Kal. My name's Kal."

The krogan raised his brow. "Just Kal? Most quarians have three or four part names."

Kal shrugged. "I just have one."

The krogan digested that information and looked at Kal thoughtfully. "My name is Gorath. I have certain… interests on Omega."

Kal reached slowly for her pistol. "What kind of interests?" Besides the interest of killing her, of course.

Gorath pulled out a datapad. "I'm a bodyguard for a smuggler, and I keep an eye out for talent. I've scouted you for about a month now, and think you might have a place on our ship." He handed the datapad to Kal, and she took her hand from her pistol to take it. "Think about it, there's no rush." The krogan pointed to the datapad. "Read that when you have some spare time. The last entry will tell you the name of the ship I work on. If you decide you want to join, you'll want that name."

Before Kal could say anything else, the krogan shuffled away. Kal took a look at the datapad before storing it in her pack. She could read it later.

* * *

Kal checked to make sure the door to the apartment was sealed. She set her pack on the floor and pulled out the datapad. She sat on the bed while she checked the files.

Gorath had given her a log of the activities of the freighter called the _Crossfire_. The owner was a volus named Hara Tir, a smuggler from Illium. The log said that Hara stole the _Crossfire_ from Eclipse mercenaries when he began his career as a smuggler. The volus smuggled a lot of things, but the entries that interested Kal were the large loads of red sand. Every other week the volus seemed to have a decent supply of red sand.

Kal skimmed over the schematics of the _Crossfire_. If she decided to join its crew, she'd know about the ship soon enough. The interesting part of the file was the crew log. Only Hara and Gorath had ever been listed as crew of the _Crossfire_. The log never mentioned any other crew members or former pilots.

Kal lost interest in the crew logs when she found out where the ship was docked: Afterlife.

Afterlife was a club that might as well have been the capital of Omega. For decades, maybe even centuries, the asari Aria ruled Omega from the VIP section of Afterlife. That Hara could dock next to Afterlife suggested that Hara was a powerful volus.

Kal immediately packed her belongings into her backpack and programmed her new omnitool with her destination: Afterlife.

* * *

Afterlife was larger than Kal had expected. Overlooking the Omega cityscape, the large building was surrounded by markets and apartments. Afterlife itself shone brightly over it all; the images of flames and dancing asari were projected to the entrances. There were crowds of people trying to get in, and there was a squad of armed bodyguards at each entrance.

Kal was amazed at the size and glow of Afterlife, but she had come to pay the ship docks a visit. She walked past several markets and stores and shoved her way through a crowd of vorcha. The vorcha growled and spat at her, but she ignored them. After several minutes of pushing through crowds, she finally reached the docks. She checked the dock numbers to find the docking bay for the _Crossfire_.

Entering the docking bay, she saw a volus and krogan arguing with some turians that looked like mechanics. As she drew closer, she could make out the threats and bickering of the group.

"We just don't have the parts you need" growled one of the turians, rubbing a blue tattoo on his neck. He pointed at the _Crossfire_, a freighter of krogan design although it surely never landed on Tuchanka. "The power couplings for a ship like this have been discontinued in Citadel Space. It's almost impossible to find them anymore."

The volus breathed in angrily before he could reply. "This isn't Citadel Space. I'm paying you to fix what you broke. You should be glad I don't ask the Blue Suns for their opinion. I'm worth a lot of red sand and weaponry to them." He stopped for breath before continuing. "I'll bet they'd feed you to the vorcha. No one would miss useless mechanics like you."

One of the turians picked up an electric tool nearby, but the krogan's quick reflexes caught the turian off guard. The krogan had pulled out a shotgun and grabbed the turian's arm before he could move. "Bad choice." The turian dropped the tool. "Better." The krogan smiled and let go.

The turians began to pick up their tools and leave when the volus noticed Kal. "Is this that quarian you mentioned, Gorath?"

The krogan, who turned out to be Gorath, nodded as he holstered his shotgun. The volus walked up to Kal and looked her over. He was wearing the usual black volus environment suit, but with red stripes on the shoulder pads. He had a holstered pistol at his side.

"Greetings, Omega-clan. I am Hara Tir, the captain of the _Crossfire_. I suppose you might be Kal, the quarian that Gorath scouted."

Kal nodded. "I'm Kal."

Hara turned to Gorath. "I trust you gave her the datapad?" Gorath nodded.

"I'm interested in joining your crew." Kal said. "I'm good at keeping myself hidden. I can handle a gun and repair broken equipment."

Gorath chuckled. "I can vouch for that. About a month ago she took down two krogan by herself." Kal was surprised that Gorath heard about that. "Later in that same week, she fixed a malfunctioning extranet terminal."

Hara rubbed his chin. "You certainly have an eye for talent, Gorath."

Gorath shrugged. Hara looked up at Kal. "Well, are you interested, Kal?"

Kal thought for a long minute before she decided. "Yeah, I don't have anything better to do."

Hara shrugged. "Welcome to the _Crossfire_, Kal. I'd give you a tour, but I need to talk to those turians before they make off with my tools."

Hara walked toward the turians, who were cleaning up a pool of grease. Gorath signaled Kal to follow him to the ship. "I'll give you the tour after Hara gets back. While you wait, you may want to get acquainted with our passenger."

Kal tilted her head in uncertainty. "Passenger?"

Gorath nodded. "He just came a few hours ago. He needs a ride off of Omega, and is willing to pay five thousand credits to get him home."

Gorath led Kal to the airlock ramp. He motioned for Kal to walk inside, and she climbed into the _Crossfire_. The room she entered was apparently some sort of sitting room behind the helm. There were benches along the walls and a viewport on the side opposite the airlock.

Kal didn't spend much time looking around. The man sitting on one of the benches was wearing a blue environment suit and a breath mask. He turned to face Kal calmly, but froze as he saw her.

"Kal vas Nedas." Tor took a deep breath. "Didn't expect to see you again."

* * *

Kal shook her head in astonishment. She stared at Tor for a minute before she could think of what to say. He sat motionless, too surprised to move or speak. Not after he realized who he was talking to.

"I suppose you think you can get back to the Migrant Fleet in this ship." Kal began. "Does the pilot know about what you did to the Blue Suns?"

Tor stood up and looked at the viewport. "He knows nothing." He walked to the viewport and made sure Hara was occupied. "Soon, he won't need to know."

Kal nodded sarcastically. "Yeah. The Blue Suns will never find you." She grabbed Tor by the shoulder and spun him around to face her, pressing her mask against his. "After a year on Omega, I know better."

Tor pushed Kal away, and she relinquished her hold on him. "That won't matter soon. I'm not staying that long."

Kal took a look out the viewport. "You must have not heard that this ship can't fly right now."

Tor crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah? What does that mean?"

Kal looked over to Hara and Gorath arguing with the turian mechanics. "Apparently the mechanics broke something. The pilot can't calibrate the drive core of a ship like this without a pair of power couplings."

Tor sighed. "Crap. Just what I need. I'm beginning to wonder if any of these mechanics know what they're doing."

Kal ignored Tor as she watched the scene from the viewport. The grease spill still wasn't cleaned up, and Gorath was standing at the edge of the pool. Hara was pacing and shouting at the mechanics. One of the mechanics stopped to check his radio. Hara continued to rant while the turians drew their pistols from the holsters. Gorath took the hint and ripped out his shotgun. Before he could get off a shot, one of the turians shot the grease spill. The oil blazed into an inferno as Gorath jumped out of the way, his kinetic shielding absorbing the fire.

Kal recognized what was happening and turned to face Tor. He wasn't looking out the viewport, and was still oblivious to the danger, as the gunshot could barely be heard from inside. Kal shoved Tor against the wall and kneed him in the chest. Before he could react, she punched him in the throat and held him against the wall until he passed out.

"Sorry, Tor. I can't have you getting in the way." Kal pulled out her pistol and ran down the airlock stairway.

When Kal had found cover behind some crates in the docking bay, the turians had already hid behind crates and a docking clamp. Hara and Gorath had weapons drawn and were hiding behind the crates of tools next to the loading ramp. Gorath stuck his head out just to receive four shots to the face. He pulled back down before his shields failed. Hara started to sneak over to Kal's position.

"Kal, we need another team mate now. Those damn turians are trying to kill us!" Hara shouted. He received a shot to the back for breaking cover, but he must have had decent shielding, as the bullet was redirected.

Kal peeked from behind her crate and warned off a turian with a shot to where his eye used to be before he had ducked. She turned to Hara, who was next to her behind the crate. "How many in total? I've only seen four so far."

"Just the four mechanics, if we wrap this up quickly." Hara fired a few shots to make the turians duck for cover. "I'm really interested in reading the leader's omnitool now."

Gorath jumped over his cover and charged at a turian that was trying to get a better shot by moving closer. The turian turned to run, but was gunned down by two shotgun blasts. Gorath was pummeled by bullets as he dived for cover.

Kal motioned Hara to come closer. "I'm going to bait one out of cover. You get ready to take the shot."

Hara nodded and peeked from cover. Kal stood up from behind the crate and shot at the two turians that were too far away for a clear shot. As expected, they hid behind nearby crates. The third turian was slow to take the bait, but came out of cover to aim a shot at Kal. Hara nailed the turian between the eyes, but not before he was able to get a shot off.

Kal fell back into cover as a shot of pain pierced her left shoulder. She looked at it to see that her suit was punctured. She had left her antibiotics on the _Crossfire_. She needed to get out, fast.

Gorath took the confusion as an opportunity to sneak up next to the turians. When one rose from cover to take a shot, he was gunned down by Gorath. The other tripped over his foot as he tried to run, and Gorath pinned him to the floor with his boot. He took his time to line up a shot with the turian's brain before ending the fight with a single blast to the back of the head.

Hara had seen Kal get shot, and pulled out his omnitool. Kal winced as he checked the wound and applied medigel. Hara was certainly well off if he could afford medigel. Kal shrugged him off when he was done and began to limp to the ship.

"Where are you going?" Hara sounded worried.

"I need my medical supplies." Kal replied. "I also need to fix my suit rupture."

Hara nodded and turned to Gorath, who was collecting omnitools from the dead turians. "Give me one of those. I want to know who these turians worked for."

* * *

Kal slowly refastened her mask after taking her pills. The pain still seared her shoulder bone, but she would survive. She made a quick patch for her suit to seal it until she had the time to repair it. Kal had just finished when she felt the sudden need for red sand.

Tor had awoken during the fight, and sat still on the bench to keep from ticking Kal off. He turned to see Hara and Gorath walking up the airlock stairs. Gorath was frowning, and Hara did not sound happy.

"I think there may be something you want to tell us, Tor." Hara didn't stop for breath.

Kal took a seat in a bench facing Tor and watched him. He looked down to think before pulling out his omnitool.

"I stole something from the Blue Suns. Kinetic shielding upgrades. Very expensive research went into the project." Tor sounded a bit worried during his confession.

Hara crossed his arms. "Right. Thanks to you, my ship's grounded. Those turians were Blue Suns mercs in disguise. They sabotaged my ship on orders from a batarian named Forack."

Kal flinched. Gorath caught the movement and looked into her mask. "Know something, Kal?"

Kal hesitated. She hadn't thought that revealing Tor's secret was such a bad idea before, and she didn't know Forack was with the Blue Suns. "I know a batarian called Forack. Tor tried to get my help before coming to you, and I told Forack about the schematics Tor stole."

Hara paced the room. He was breathing furiously through his mask. Gorath sealed the airlocks and turned on several security cameras. At last, Hara decided to speak.

"Gorath, give Kal a tour while I discuss fare with our passenger." He glared at Tor. "This assignment may be more difficult than anticipated."

Gorath nodded and motioned Kal to follow him. Kal stood and stole one last glance at Tor before following.

* * *

After the tour, Gorath took Kal back to the front of the ship. Tor was still at his bench, and Hara was standing next to the door to the helm. Hara looked up as Gorath and Kal approached.

"The status quo has changed." The volus walked up to Kal. "It turns out that we need to find a new way off of Omega." Kal waited for the volus to continue, but he turned to look at Tor first. Tor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Hara turned back to Kal. "How do you feel about infiltrating the Blue Suns?"

Kal stood speechless. She knew the volus couldn't be serious. Fighting the Blue Suns on Omega was like giving a hated enemy a gun and painting a target on yourself. She looked at Hara to see that he was serious. She sighed.

"What did you have in mind?"

Hara took a deep breath. "They have what we need: working ships. I'm not leaving the _Crossfire_ to be looted, but I can't take off without working parts."

Gorath nodded. "So we steal the parts from the Blue Suns." He smiled in Tor's direction. "Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Tor just hid his head behind his hands.

Kal shook her head. "We need a better plan than 'Let's steal from the Blue Suns! They already hate us!'"

Hara nodded. "Yes. That will require some time to think." He pulled out his omnitool and made some calculations. "We'll need to leave the ship—locked, of course—and find a place to bunker down for a few days." He put his omnitool away and checked his pistol. "Bring what you need with you."

Kal nodded and packed her things into her backpack. As she did, she remembered something. She tapped Hara on the shoulder to get his attention. "I saw you had a crate of red sand in the cargo hold. It's not going anywhere for a few days, so I was wondering…"

Hara shook his head. "I don't need you high when the Blue Suns decide to rip us apart and burn our corpses." Hara sighed. "You should drop the habit. It does things to you."

Kal shook her head and went back to putting things in her pack. Hara motioned Gorath, and the two began locking down the _Crossfire's_ systems. Tor grabbed his pack and stood up, ready to go. Kal took one last look at the ship before following Hara out of the airlock.

* * *

Hara led the way through the mazes of streets on Omega. Tor tensed when they had to pass through a crowd with a Blue Suns merc nearby, but Kal just pushed him along to keep them from being spotted. Gorath kept his weapons holstered, but leered at anyone staring at the group. Eventually, Hara found the place he was looking for.

It was a warehouse, a large building with a garage entrance. A vehicle of some kind, possibly a rover, was parked to the side. Crates were scattered about randomly, and an asari was walking through the warehouse with a datapad. She looked up when she heard Hara's breathing. She put the datapad down on a crate and walked over.

"Hara, it's been a long time since that last shipment of Hallex. Where have you been?" The asari gave Hara a smile that he probably didn't return.

"Quit Hallex smuggling. It's a long story, and I don't have time right now." He pointed to Tor. "Myself and some acquaintances need a place to bunker down for a few days."

The asari shook her head and picked up the datapad. "Why? Who are you running from this time?"

"The Blue Suns." Hara crossed his arms. "I'll tell you about it later. Do we have a place to stay?"

The asari sighed. "Yeah, follow me." She led Hara to a door hidden behind some crates, and Kal followed. Gorath pushed Tor along. The asari opened the door, and inside was a small apartment. "I hope it's big enough for your friend." She smiled at her own joke.

"You say that every time. It gets old fast." Gorath replied. He led the quarians into the room, and Hara stayed outside to talk with the asari.

After a few minutes, Hara walked into the apartment and sealed the door. "Everyone get some rest." He pulled out his omnitool and took a seat at a desk. "I need to think."

* * *

Kal woke to the sound of arguing. Hara and Gorath were complaining among themselves, but Kal thought she heard something else. "Quiet!" Hara turned to stare at Kal, but Gorath looked at the door.

"I hope that's soundproof." He remarked. Hara sighed.

"What is it, Kal? We're trying to figure out how to steal a power coupling from a heavily guarded ship. What could possibly be more important?"

Gunfire from outside the apartment answered Hara's question. He cursed and pulled out his pistol. Gorath pulled out an assault rifle and shoved Tor awake. Tor groaned but stood up. Hara waited next to the door to hear what was going on. Kal pulled out her pistol and stood next to him.

Before Tor could hide behind something, the door opened. A Blue Suns merc walked in and shouted to his team. Hara shot the merc in the back of the head for not checking behind him. Gorath shoved Tor into cover and fired several warning shots through the door.

Hara peeked from behind the door and motioned for Gorath to get closer. The two smugglers left Kal in charge of Tor while they went out to fight. Kal wished they had at least told her that she'd be the one protecting Tor. She checked the heat gauge on her pistol and took cover behind the couch Tor had been shoved behind.

Tor was clutching his pack close to his chest. Kal shook her head. Tor's sticky fingers got them all into this mess. She looked behind her when she heard footsteps. A turian was slowly walking into the room, checking the walls next to the door for an ambush. Kal stood up quickly to fire at the oblivious merc.

Unfortunately, the turian had kinetic shielding. Kal's bullet bounced off of the turian, and he spun around to retaliate. Kal barely ducked out of the way of a spray of assault rifle fire. Bullets lodged themselves into the couch, and Tor shook with fear. The turian must have taken cover after the initial attack, as the bullets stopped firing after a few seconds.

Kal carefully checked to see what the turian was doing. He was hiding behind an overturned desk with his assault rifle ready. He noticed Kal's surveillance and opened fire. Kal ducked behind the couch to hear another round of bullets bury themselves into the furniture.

Kal knew that she couldn't hide forever. She holstered her pistol and pulled out her shotgun. She checked the readings to make sure it was functional, and stood to take the shot. The turian had his back to her, but he was behind the desk. She fired a warning shot to keep him in cover as she climbed over the couch. She slowly approached the desk, firing every few steps. The turian felt the desk weakening, and jumped out of cover. Before Kal was able to pull the trigger, he managed to drive the butt of his gun into her mask.

Kal's face seared with pain. Several sharp shards of glass were lodged in her cheeks. She pulled the trigger of her shotgun and watched the bullets spray to the side. The turian's shielding must have fallen, as a wave of dark energy pulsed from him. He brought his weapon down a second time, breaking Kal's nose. She pulled the trigger a second time, and the turian was ripped apart by the fragmenting shotgun blast. Kal pulled the trigger again, finishing the turian.

Kal gasped. Blood ran down her face as she tore out chunks of glass. She dropped her shotgun and struggled to pull off her mask. It fell and shattered on the floor of the apartment. She clutched her face with one hand while she stumbled to her pack. She dumped its contents on the floor, ignoring the gunfire from outside. Her vision was blurred as she tried to make sense of the multiple vials and sacks. She opened a few containers and took out several pills from each. She choked as many down as she could; hoping one of them was the right one.

Kal fell to her knees and watched her blood drip onto the floor. Her vision was nearly gone; she could barely make out Tor standing beside her. He should have stayed in cover. Kal didn't bother trying to shout at him, she could barely keep awake. Her head was throbbing from the blows she received from the turian's gun.

Kal felt some of the pills taking effect. The pain faded away with her vision, and she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

Kal ran a hand across her face. There were scars, but she felt whole. She relaxed for a moment before she noticed she wasn't wearing her mask. She tried to pull herself up to look for it, but a strong hand pushed her back down. She reluctantly laid still. Voices were whispering nearby, but she couldn't make out the words. Something moved closer. Kal opened her eyes.

Daron looked back.

Kal tried to speak, but couldn't move her mouth before pain shot through her face. Another person, the one who had pushed her down, called over to someone Kal couldn't see. Kal stared at Daron, unable to look at anything else. He calmly watched Kal.

"I think she needs some more medigel. She's waking up." The large person sounded familiar. Krogan. Kal knew it had to be Gorath.

"Give me a moment to pull it out." Hara stumbled over a backpack and pulled out an omnitool. He applied medigel on the wounds in Kal's face. She felt the scars begin to heal.

Gorath slowly pulled Kal into a sitting position. She felt her face with her hand again. The scars would take some time to heal. She looked around. Daron and Gorath were standing next to Kal, while Hara was walking back to a bench. Tor was seated on the bench, fiddling with his omnitool. The room that Kal was in was dark, only slightly lit by a small glow lamp. The room must have been intended for storage, as only the bench and some beds—like the one Kal was sitting on—adorned the room.

"What happened?" Kal's voice sounded groggy. It also sounded unfamiliar to Kal; she was used to hearing the modulation from her mask.

Gorath looked to Hara, who shrugged. Gorath put a hand on Kal's shoulder to steady her before starting. "The Blue Suns found the apartment, we're not sure how. Our friend was gunned down when they first came. Hara and I drove off or killed most of them." Gorath pointed to Kal's face. "One tried to sneak in and grab Tor. I found him ripped to shreds with your shotgun lying next to him. You were passed out on the floor near your pack, trauma and overdose probably. Tor was safe, but didn't know squat about what to do. We brought you to Daron's Bar."

Kal thought of a question, but thought better of it. She didn't need to know the history between Daron and Hara right now. She was curious about something else, though. She turned to Daron. "Is this the cellar?"

Daron nodded at the entrance, a small stairwell leading up into some back room of the bar. "Sincerely: Yes. This is my safe house."

Kal looked around. "Where's the red sand?"

Gorath laughed. "He doesn't store it here. He hides it in the apartments upstairs. There are some places that no one tries to look, and those rooms happen to be the most secure places on Omega." He smirked at Hara. "Maybe we should have come here first."

Hara scowled. "We didn't have time then. We're here now, though."

Tor stopped his fiddling to pull something out of his pack. It was a quarian mask, tinted red. "I found this in a junkyard somewhere." He stood and walked over to Kal. He offered the mask. "Until you can find one that matches your suit."

Kal took the mask into her hands. She looked into it. The mask tinted everything viewed through it into a sinister red. She sighed and pulled it into place over her scars. She tightened the releases and turned on the air filter.

* * *

Kal was fighting off a migraine. Red sand withdrawal was really getting into her head, and the recent overdose on the countermeasures and antibiotics didn't help. She sat in Daron's back room, listening him berate stupid customers and ignore everyone else. She tried not to laugh at some of the terrible jokes Daron made to belittle his customers; her head couldn't take it.

"Snide insinuation: Ah yes, "Reapers." Intelligent spaceships determined to destroy all life. You have been listening to too many vids of Commander Shepard."

"No, I mean it. I was on Virmire, salarian STG. I was stranded after the blast, but I saw Sovereign. The Reaper ship."

"Mocking query: How did you survive a nuclear explosion? Did it blow you all the way to Omega?"

"No, I was picked up by a passing batarian ship. And I wasn't in the explosion, or I wouldn't be here right now."

"Dismissively: I do not have time for idle talk about dead Spectres. I suggest you buy something or leave."

"Fine. Just give me something that won't rip my intestines apart."

Daron shambled back into the room Kal was sitting in. He looked at Kal before going up a flight of stairs to his private stocks. Kal tried to rub her forehead to stop the headache, but her mask was on. Daron came back down with some drinks and walked back into the bar. Kal heard the door open. She listened to find out who the newcomer was.

"I take it you're Daron?" The voice sounded distinctly turian. "I have a few questions for you."

Daron sighed. "What is it, turian?"

"That's Commander Kryyn to you. You need to show some respect. The Blue Suns could run this place down in a heartbeat."

"Sarcastic assertion: I was unaware you were in the Blue Suns."

"I'm wearing a Blue Suns uniform. What does that tell you?"

Kal held her breath for a moment before realizing that she was not recognizable. She inched closer to the entrance to the bar to listen more closely.

"Anyway, I heard that I could find some fugitives from the Blue Suns here. Two quarians and a volus. Seen anyone suspicious?"

"Falsely sincere reply: I have seen many suspicious people."

"You know what I mean, elcor."

"With great force: I do not house quarians, turian."

The turian snorted. "Of course you wouldn't."

Daron didn't respond. The turian must have stood at the bar, waiting for something. Then Kal heard footsteps leaving the bar.

"If you find any quarians that look suspicious, send them to the docks in the slum district nearby. I'll have a surprise for them at my ship."

* * *

Hara seemed to be glowing at his work when he was finished. Kal watched the lights that covered his mouth and eyes flash several times as he charted a course through Omega's street labyrinth. Gorath was smiling, and Tor was too exited to sit down.

"You've done it, Daron. We have a target now." Hara looked to Daron. "Good job at keeping that idiot out of here. Now we have time to prepare an ambush of our own."

Kal picked up her pistol and holstered it. "How is this going to work?"

Hara pulled up an image with his omnitool. Kal recognized it as the layout of a dock in the slums. Several markers were placed around the docking bay.

"It's simple. Tor will stay here with Daron. Gorath will be the distraction; he'll walk into the docking bay posing as someone with a lead on me. He'll be wearing altered armor, of course. I'll come in from this way to give him cover if something goes wrong. You'll be here. He'll have radio contact with me; he'll tell us how many are in the docking bay and such. Should a fight break out, we'll provide cover fire so that Gorath can find a crate to hide behind. Otherwise we'll try to bribe the guards for the power couplings."

Kal nodded. Tor bounced on his feet. "So, what will I do while I'm waiting?"

Gorath gave Tor an OSD. "You'll transfer the first part of the payment onto this. Then you should try to get in contact with the quarian that Daron knows to learn the current location of the Migrant Fleet."

Kal was confused. "Wait; two questions. First, you know other quarians, Daron?"

Daron nodded. "I have several acquaintances with quarians who collect supplies for the fleet." He made a sound Kal thought must have been the elcor variant of a chuckle. "I don't hate quarians as much as I say I do."

Kal rubbed her neck while she thought of the abuse she suffered from Daron over the past few years. "Right." She looked at Gorath. "What did you mean by the "first part" of the payment?"

Hara stepped forward. "I can answer that one. After I found out about Tor's little scheme, I decided to make this worth crossing the Blue Suns. He's going to give me a copy of the shield upgrade data."

Tor nodded. Kal shook her head. She didn't like being left out of the loop, but she was new to working in a group and didn't want to mess it up. She picked up her shotgun and holstered it.

"When do we leave?"

Gorath smiled. "As soon as you're ready."

* * *

Kal pulled out her shotgun and ducked behind a crate. She looked down into the docking bay. A small freighter was attached to some cables. Two turian mechanics were working on a disassembled engine with omnitools and some conventional equipment. The turians wore no armor, but had vests with the Blue Suns symbols dyed onto them. Power cables lined the floor in a tangled mess, and one of the turians had to carefully step over a heap of cables to get at the engine. A turian in Blue Suns armor walked down the loading ramp of the freighter. He had a pistol at his side, but no other weapons. Kal pulled out her radio and signaled Hara.

"I'm in position. I see three turians, two mechanics and one that looks like a merc. They haven't seen me yet."

She heard the volus's breath mask on the other side when Hara called back. "I'm behind a pile of crates on the… east side of the docking bay. Just across from your position. I can't get a good look at what they're doing."

Kal saw one of the mechanics climbing back over to the tool bin while the other worked on the engine. The merc was supervising the mechanics.

"The turians are distracted for the moment. If you move fast, you might be able to find a better spot."

Kal waited for a response. The turian collecting tools brought an armful of different tools over to the other mechanic. They picked out a few and put the rest back. The merc turned to look into the ship, as if hearing himself being called. Another mercenary, a batarian, walked down the ramp.

"I can see now." Hara panted like he had been sprinting. "Did another merc come out?"

"Yeah, a batarian. Both mercenaries are armed with pistols."

"I'm signaling Gorath. Be ready."

Kal pushed a thermal clip into her shotgun and waited. The mechanics seemed to be having trouble with something, and the turian merc walked over to help. The three turians were pulling something out of the engine when the docking bay door opened. All four Blue Suns turned to face the intruder. Gorath strode in, fully armed and wearing a Blood Pack uniform. The batarian pointed to the engine before walking to greet the krogan. The turians got back to work.

Kal could barely make out what was being said, as Gorath was keeping his radio off to avoid detection. "Who are you? This is Blue Suns territory, krogan."

Gorath held up his hands to show that no weapons were drawn. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I thought I could help you out."

The batarian looked over the Blood Pack markings. "Why would a Blood Pack warrior want to help the Blue Suns?" The batarian frowned. "If this is about Archangel, you should leave. We don't need any help."

Gorath smiled. "That turian can rot in hell for all I care. I'm here about some quarians."

The batarian looked over to the turian merc. They exchanged glances, and the turian got up from the engine. He walked back up the loading ramp.

"You'll want to speak to Commander Kryyn. He's the one in charge of looking for the quarians."

The batarian stepped back from Gorath as a turian in Blue Suns commander armor walked down the loading ramp. He faked a smile at Gorath, and Gorath waved. The turian shook his head.

"Don't mock me. I'm only out here to make sure you actually have information about the quarians." Kryyn glared at Gorath, warning him. He pulled out his weapon—a Vindicator Battle Rifle—and flourished it to make his point.

Gorath chuckled. "I'm sure you'll get your hands on them soon, with my info."

Kryyn kept his battle rifle in his hands. "Yes, so I understand. Now tell me, for what reason would you tell me this?"

Kal noticed that the mechanics had drawn pistols and snuck around behind Gorath. She quietly signaled Hara.

"Our ship needs a critical component, one that you might be able to supply us in exchange for information."

The batarian whispered something to Kryyn. Kal suddenly recognized the batarian's face: Forack, the scrap dealer that had sold them out.

Kryyn frowned. "I see." He hefted his rifle. "That must mean you aren't from the Blood Pack…"

Hara signaled Kal to move closer. She crept up behind the group, readying her shotgun.

Gorath cracked an ugly grin. "Well, I suppose that leaves one thing to do…"

Gorath dived behind a crate as Hara's bullets buried themselves into the mechanics. Kryyn scowled and began to fire his rifle at Hara's position behind a docking cable. The other turian waited for Gorath to break cover.

Kal snuck behind Forack and pulled the trigger of her shotgun. He spun around, his shield emitter flashing red. He was stunned to see Kal, but was able to fire a shot at Kal's hand. Her shotgun fell to the ground, damaged by the shot. Kal guessed she was lucky to have her hand. She pulled out her pistol and clubbed Forack in the face with it.

Forack grabbed Kal's hand before she could hit him again. He knocked the pistol to the ground and brought his own up. Kal shoved Forack backwards, causing him to lose balance and slip in a pool of grease. He dropped his pistol to the ground and struggled to get back up.

Forack reached for his pistol and Kal panicked. If he was able to get a clean shot, she had no kinetic shielding to protect her. She grabbed her own pistol hastily and aimed at the grease puddle. Her shot fired before Forack had a decent grip on his weapon, and he went up in flames.

"Guess the Blue Suns finally get to pay for leaving their mess all over the place…" Kal muttered as she looked over to her allies.

The turian merc was dead, multiple bullet wounds bleeding into a blue puddle. Hara stood with his pistol ready as Gorath and Kryyn were locked in hand-to-hand combat. Kryyn was strong and tough enough to hold his own against Gorath.

After watching Gorath take a few nasty scratches to the face, Kal lined up a clear shot and fired at Kryyn's shoulder. The bullet nicked Gorath's armor, but he was unharmed. Kryyn was not as lucky.

Kryyn let go in pain and confusion. He turned slowly to face Kal before being punched in the face by Gorath, shattering his skull. Kryyn bleed over the floor as Gorath retrieved his weapon.

"We need to get the components before someone else comes!" Hara shouted. He and Gorath began searching for the power couplings and handed Kal a few things to carry. Once they had was they needed, they ran out of the warehouse and immediately took to the back alleys.

Hara chuckled as they left Blue Suns territory. "Good job, everyone. We're going to leave Omega for a _long_ time."

* * *

Kal looked out a viewport into the void. The flickering lights of distant stars twinkled at the edge of vision, populating an otherwise empty space. Her uncle had once said something about the stars. Just watching them would calm him, let his worries slip away. Kal forced the thought of the cargo of red sand out of her mind to study the stars. She realized that several large ships had come into view.

Kal motioned for Tor to come over to the viewport. Tor watched the ships come into view. Three giant vessels, with thousands of smaller ships surrounding them: The Migrant Fleet.

"We're getting close." Hara called from the helm. "I'm going to need the codes or they'll just shoot us down."

Tor walked into the helm to talk with the quarians in charge of incoming vessels. Kal continued to watch the stars. Gorath came out of the helm to stand next to her. He turned to Kal, analyzing her. "They don't let people back, do they?"

Kal shook her head. "I don't remember a single case of an exile being welcomed back."

Gorath nodded. He left Kal to contemplate the fleet. Kal stood, watching the fleet come closer. She recognized the ship that the _Crossfire_ attached to.

* * *

Netra was the one who opened the airlock. He and two guards stood in the passage between the two ships. Tor walked forward with his omnitool, accessing his data. Gorath and Hara were holding back, near the _Crossfire_. Kal leaned against a wall, watching.

"Captain Netra vas _Redback_, this is my gift to the Migrant Fleet." Tor held out the hand with his omnitool, a glowing schematic hovering above the lit device.

Netra took out his own omnitool and copied the data. He shook Tor's hand. "Welcome, Tor vas _Redback_. We will officially accept you once we have transmitted the data to the other ships."

The guards escorted Tor into the _Redback_. Hara left to prepare the _Crossfire_ for departure. Gorath crossed his arms and watched from the airlock to his ship. Kal had stood up, and she was facing Netra. Netra paused. He stepped forward and put a hand on Kal's shoulder.

"It has been too long. Keelah sel'ai."

Kal looked down, unwilling to look her uncle in the face. "Uncle." She hesitated. "What happened to my father?"

"He was sent on a deep-space exploration team, like the crew of the _Idenna_. He will be gone for the next four years."

Kal sighed. "I doubt he'd want to see me anyway."

Netra patted Kal on the shoulder. "I'm sure he'd be proud of you."

Kal touched the hand on her shoulder. She pushed it off and stepped back. "I don't belong here, uncle. I have to go."

Netra nodded. Kal thought she saw a sad smile under his mask. "Go in peace, Kal'Ral vas _Crossfire_."

* * *

Hara lit up the engines and checked his readings. Gorath was sitting in the copilot's chair, preparing to detach from the _Redback_. Kal stood behind them, looking out the forward viewport.

"Are you ready to go, Kal?" Hara asked.

Kal watched as the Fleet prepared to move on. "I'm ready."

Gorath detached the _Crossfire_ from the _Redback_. The ship drifted for a moment before Hara guided it towards the edges of the fleet. Kal watched the fleet gliding through the stars as Gorath activated the FTL drive.

* * *

_"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through __shoals of dust__, I will return to where I began."_


End file.
